Being You
by detectivezelda
Summary: It's Valentine's Day. Love is in the air, the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, and Arnold and Helga have swapped bodies. Wait, what?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I just couldn't stop myself from writing this. Like I just had to no matter what. lol My hand wouldn't stop itching to write this down, and so I did. (: This story is mostly going to be about them becoming friends. Perhaps the universe figured they needed a little help with that. ;) I really like fantasy stuff such as this, and I just got through reading a manga about it so...yeah. *shrugs* Oh, and warning FTi didn't happen here, but I guess all the other episodes have. **

**I don't own Hey Arnold nor do I claim any rights to any of the characters from the show.**

* * *

"Happy Valentine's day Helga," A slightly blushing Arnold said, holding out his gift, a handmade card shaped like a heart, at the full length of him arms, and avoiding her eyes just a bit. She took him all in while she could. His golden hair was a bit longer than it had been in previous years, and the weight of it caused it to droop a little. His eyes were still green and earnest, and he had grown taller, though he still wasn't taller than her. Above all, he still was always ready to help a friend in need. Most times she teased that he was still dull as a board, to which he would half close his eyes and give her what now was becoming the sexiest look she had ever seen and reply, 'whatever you say, Helga.' It was one of the bright spots of any day. All these years later and she still couldn't get enough of him. She was pathetic.

"Thanks football head," she said now, and reached out to grab it, but hesitated, narrowing her eyes. "This isn't an April Fools prank is it?"

"No," he smiled at her doubt. She did that with any present he got her. "It's not even April yet."

"O-oh, right," she tentatively took the card from him, a soft smile growing on the edges of her face, but she quickly replaced it with a glare. "If there's nothing more for you to do here, you can go back to your seat now, Arnoldo."

"Yeah, bye Helga," he went back to the front of the class and sat next to Gerald, who watched him with a puzzled expression. He ignored his best friend as he usually did whenever he did something for Helga. He already knew how Gerald felt about her, but for some reason he liked doing nice things for her. It was...unexplainable really.

"Did you just give Pataki a Valentine's day card?" Gerald asked, fishing for information.

"Maybe," he replied cryptically. He knew it wasn't a good response when Gerald narrowed his eyes at him.

"You do know I, and most of the class, just watched you give her one right?" he watched as Arnold shifted uncomfortably. "What I really meant to ask was why?"

"Because nobody else ever does. It gets kind of lonely you know, never getting something on a day like this. Besides, it was just a card," he sounded defensive, guilty, even to himself.

Gerald scoffed. "'Just a card' is what I'd agree to if I didn't watch you make that card yourself as if your very life depended on it. I assumed it was for Lila."

"Nope, this one is for Lila," he pulled out a couple of cards that looked similar, but each had a different phrase on them, unlike the one Helga received.

"Are you serious right now? Why was Helga's specially created just for her, but your girlfriend is getting one that third graders give out as a friendly gesture of the day?"

"Lila's not my girlfriend," he replied, putting the cards away again.

"Not yet you mean. I thought you were working on it?"

He had been. Three years ago, back in the fifth grade, but when it came to who he was in love with Gerald always picked any girl as long as it wasn't Helga. Not that he was in love with _her_ or anything, of course not, but he liked doing nice things for her. Gerald didn't like that for some reason, though Helga had cooled down on the bullying. If anything she just was strong willed nowadays, and Arnold didn't see that as a bad thing.

"Good morning class," their teacher, Ms. Grey said, coming in the door with a huge smile on her face. Arnold was grateful for her distraction. "Do you all know what today is?"

"Happy Single's Awareness day?" Rhonda said, earning her a few high fives from the girls around her.

Ms. Grey's smile only grew. "Not quite, but it is Valentine's Day."

Arnold tuned in and out as Ms. Grey explained the days assignment. Instead, he turned to look at Helga as often as he could get away with. She would be looking in his general direction with a wistful expression on her face, then whenever their eyes met, she'd glare and ask, "What?"

He'd turn back around and smile softly. He was glad that his card had brought a smile to her face rather she admitted it or not. He had begun to see that she was mostly shy along with being mostly harmless. It was a nice thought. Secretly, he wished they could be friends, at least closer than the tolerance they had between each other. She had an interesting personality, one he couldn't help but admire. On rare occasions, he wished he could be like her. She had slowly become someone he secretly respected and that was the true reason he had made her the card, to show that. The other girls just couldn't compare, not even sugary sweet Lila. There was something about Helga that made her unique, but in a way that made her a person with her own category. He liked trying to figure out the mystery that enveloped her. She had to have one. He had caught her too many times smiling off into space, and he couldn't help but envy whoever had put it there.

As class ended he resolved that he'd start working on being Helga's friend before the school year was over. It couldn't be that hard to do right?

* * *

"Oh Arnold. I will forever cherish this card more than you'll ever know," Helga swooned and held the card close to her chest as she walked home. She couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her lips. She tried to move on from her love, a total of eighteen times in fact, but how could she when he was just so…perfect? Heck, she doubted he had a single problem in life, and it would take a lot to get her to change her opinion of him.

She hummed happily as she walked down the street. She even spun herself around a light pole, she was just so giddy. If she were brave, she'd have even given him the card she had handmade for him, but she had chickened out with everyone staring at them earlier. To say she was surprised he'd given her a Valentine this year was an understatement, but she was over the moon in happiness that he had.

To put it lightly, puberty was being good to Arnold and the girls were starting to take notice of it. She wasn't the only one who was vying for his attention anymore, and she had near given up until now. Now she figured she had some sort of hope of changing his feelings…maybe, hopefully.

"I, Helga G. Pataki, vow on this Valentine, given to me by my beloved, to admit my feelings to him before we go to high school where there are sure to be bimbos fighting for him." She kissed it and folded the valentine and placed it in her locket. "Now no chickening out Helga ol' girl. You can do this." She sighed, and smiled, staring up at the sky that was an array of endless blue. "It's time."

* * *

Arnold sighed, as he walked home. The end of the school day had been...unexpected, but annoying all the same. He was tired, so tired, of all the girls wondering why their card wasn't as lovely as Helga's had been. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something he'd regret. Arnold noticed that his had been the only card Helga had gotten all day and here they were, already with multiple cards, being greedy. He hated that. Helga would never complain in a similar situation he didn't think, but he _was_ sure she would never beg for a better card. She wasn't the type to stoop so low. In that way she was one in a million. As it was, with his thoughts in a fury, he hadn't been paying attention, and because of that he had bumped into a girl with a blonde ponytail and a temper of a mountain lion.

They crashed into each other as they had many times before, a full body impact that was sure to leave a bruise or two. Their lips touched softly, too quickly for them to really notice it had happened. The collision made both of them land on the ground stunned. Helga rubbed her head and scowled. "Geez, football head you still…" She stopped talking, realizing immediately that something was wrong. The voice coming out of her mouth made her heart race in a wild panic. She knew that voice well, and it so wasn't her own. It was...She shook her head, gulping, and did the next best thing. She turned to look at Arnold, but the person looking back at her was…herself.

She screamed loud, from disbelief, shock, and fear. Arnold, began to worry as she didn't seem ready to stop screaming anytime soon. He covered her mouth with his, well her, hand. "Helga…" he spoke softly, hearing his word come out with her voice, something that made his stomach flip in a weird way. "That is you…right?" He said, address his body, hoping with all his might his guess had been correct. Anything else probably would have gave him a mind meltdown.

Unable to do much else out of the fear surrounding her heart, she nodded. "Arnold?" She asked tentatively, in his voice. She had to be dreaming. This had to be one big dream. People don't just...swap bodies like this. It just didn't happen.

"Yeah," a frown appeared on her face, but studied her with what she could only call curious interest. She was sure she had never personally made that face herself. "_I must be dreaming_," she, no Arnold, murmured. Helga was growing faint by the second. She had to wrap her mind around the fact that Arnold was now…her. This was a terrible turn of events.

"How did this happen?" She asked, in Arnold's rich voice. She already knew she was going to have to stop herself from talking out loud for no reason. His voice was just so amazing.

"I don't know, I'm still having a hard time believing it," he admitted.

"This is just so weird." She said in reply, unable to believe her eyes. She wanted to slap herself, but to do that she'd be slapping Arnold's face. There was no way she was ever going to do that.

"We have to find a way to get back into our own bodies," Arnold said, standing up. He dusted off her clothes. "Perhaps we should crash into each other again."

"Arnold, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she stood up and crossed her arms.

"Do you have any other bright ideas?" He asked, staring at her curiously.

"Well…no…"

"Okay then. At least it's something, plus we crashed into each other when…this happened. Maybe the same thing will revert us back."

It sounded crazy all right, but what was crazier was that they had indeed switched bodies in the first place. She was staring at herself as he usually saw her. Her hair was mess thanks to her ponytail growing loose from the day, her clothes were a bit crooked from the crash, her face wasn't as menacing, but Arnold wasn't that sort of person and he was currently in control of her emotions…er his emotions. Oh, crimeny, she was turning into a basket case.

"Fine…it's worth a shot."

They made three attempts to crash into each other the way they had before and failed miserably. Their timing was never accurate, and it seemed to get worse the more they tried, not better. It was like the universe was against them.

"Let's just run into each other head on," Helga suggested.

"I'm not sure if that'll work…" Arnold said, biting his lip.

"Why wouldn't it?" She asked, getting near hysterics, but trying to stay in control. They couldn't stay like this. Staying like this meant they'd have to go home…as each other. Helga wasn't willing to stand for that, and she didn't like that he didn't think her idea would work. "As long as we crash into each other does it matter?"

Arnold shrugged. "Maybe…I guess. You're right, let's just try it."

They both went to opposite ends of the street. "I'll count to three," Arnold said, her voice carrying all the way to her ears. She really was loud wasn't she? "One…two…THREE!"

They both took off running, and Helga had a thought that she found this in an odd sort of way…fun. She was Arnold. The guy she had always admired from afar and now here she was…him. This may be a once in a lifetime chance, but before she could think about it any longer they crashed into each other hard. Pain rang throughout her body; the wind was gone from her lungs. While they had crashed into each other many times before, it had never been at a run. It was a terrible feeling.

"Ugh, did we change back?" Arnold asked, but he asked it in her voice. She frowned, as she winced from the pain and anger of utter defeat of her plan failing.

"…I don't think so football head."

He groaned, rather from pain or the fact they had not escaped from their current plight was a mystery to her. She stood up and nearly fell again. She was still dizzy from the crash. Arnold's body wasn't quite as sturdy as hers, which she couldn't help but frown about.

"Arnold?"

"…Yeah."

"There's no way we can pose as each other for who knows how long. It's impossible."

"…I know."

"So what are we going to do?"

"That's a good question."

She turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you always Mr. Look on the Brightside? You must have some sort of thought."

He smiled and his eyes, correction her own eyes, went half lidded. She could feel her heart race, which was crazy since she was looking at herself, but she knew it was Arnold in there right now, and for some reason that was all that mattered.

"Yeah, but if you looked in the mirror you'd realize you're me, so perhaps you should think of something Helga."

"Football head, don't confuse me more than I already am."

He chuckled. "I'm you Helga, so if anyone should be calling anyone football head it's me."

"…You're having fun with this now aren't you?"

"No…" He frowned. "Okay, maybe a little, but I think I could handle being you for a small while."

"What?" She widened her eyes and stared at him. He wasn't saying what she thought he was saying…was he?

"I just think maybe for now we should just try to practice being each other."

No, no, oh hecks to the no. "I'm not sure that's a good idea…" Her mind immediately thought about her room. She still had a lot of Arnold related stuff in there. It was a ticking time bomb of secrets.

"Well, it's not the best idea, but it's kinda the only one we have right now." He said, wincing as he stretched. She could only look at him as he did that. He was acting awfully comfortable.

She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you suddenly okay with all of this?"

"I'm not," he said, but he was avoiding her gaze. What the heck?

"…Yeah, I'm against this," she said bluntly, not liking the way Arnold was acting. "Call Pheebs, and have her make up an alibi that you're sleeping there and then sleep in your own room."

"But…"

"No buts." She said firmly. She was glad his voice already held authority in it. If he wanted to, he could probably have people listening to anything he said. A scary thought actually. "Just do it."

"Whatever you say, Arnold," she cringed at the name, but it made sense to start addressing themselves as such.

"Can you not call me that unless other people are around? It's kind of…creepy."

"Yeah, okay." They walked to a pay phone and she dialed Phoebe's number in. After the second ring her best friend answered the line. "Konichiwa, Heyerdahl residence. Who's calling?" She motioned for Arnold to take the phone from her, which he did to her relief.

"Hey, er, Pheebs. Um, I was wondering if you could just um, say I'm staying over…tonight?" He flinched once he was done with the sentence.

"Is everything alright?" Helga could hear the concern in her friends voice as she listened in. Great, he was making her worry. He was trying too hard to act like her.

"Uh, yes?" She slapped her forehead. Any worse than that and Phoebe would start looking for her or worse get her parents involved. He took a deep breath before he spoke again. "I mean, of course I'm fine, sheesh Pheebs. I'm, uh, not running from the law or anything."

She blinked, and watched him. He blushed, and turned away from her, so now she couldn't even hear what Phoebe was saying. "Doi, if it was something that bad I would tell you." A pause. "Yes, I promise, so do we have a deal?"

He hung up the phone and sighed giving her the okay sign with his hand. She grabbed him, but seeing as she was now on the shorter end of the spectrum, she couldn't lift him as much as she would have liked. "What the heck kind of performance was that?"

"I was just being you." He said, a slow smile appeared on his lips.

"Yes I could see that, but…" In the end, he had been pretty good. A bit on the rusty side, but with some practice... "If you had that in you, why the stuttering at first?"

"Well…I don't know." He blushed, not saying any more than that.

"Never mind. Let's just plan our next move."

"Sneaking me into my room?" He asked.

"No that's easy," she waved his question away, having already formulated the plan to that. "I meant as far as actually acting like each other. Talking on the phone is easy. In person it's a whole new ball game."

"I'm pretty confident I can handle it," he said, looking smug. She snorted.

"It's not that easy being me."

"It's not that easy being _me_," he threw back at her.

They glared at each other. "Is that a bet I smell Arnold?"

"If you're up for the challenge Helga," he sashayed down the sidewalk suddenly and a bit awkwardly. He turned and looked back at her halfway down the block. "What do you think? Do I walk like you?"

She laughed. "Not even close football head."

"Hey, only I can say football head, _football head,_" he said, grinning.

"Whatever you say, Helga," she said to him, using one of his favorite sayings. They both looked at each other and started laughing.

She walked to catch up to him, her head spinning. What a strange set of circumstances they now found themselves in. Being each other. Could they do it? Helga guessed that now they'd find out how much they could, and hopefully all the while the secret she kept close to her heart would stay that way. Now, if only she could stop herself from trying to sniff the collar of the shirt she was wearing...yep, he still smelled good. Swoon.

* * *

**A/N: I cannot believe I'm doing this too myself. I really need to stop. lol**


	2. Can It Get Any More Awkward

**A/N: Thanks guys so much for the reviews! (: I'm really happy you all like this story so far! This is definitely going to be a full story, I won't discontinue it or anything, since it seemed a few reviewers thought I wouldn't go on from there. I was mostly referring to having three open stories to manage. *sigh* There may be slow updates here and there as I decide which one I have more of an interest in writing for. Anyway, I hope you all like chapter two! (:  
**

* * *

Arnold and Helga walked to the boarding house assessing their situation. In some unexplainable way they were each other. The more they took glances at their bodies walking along side them, the more real it all became.

"Hey, Helga," Arnold said, turning to look at himself. It never stopped being…weird. It was like he was having an out of body experience. In a way he was. His head was beginning to hurt. "Do you know what to expect…you know, being me and all?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're probably going to have to talk to my grandma or grandpa…maybe even some of the boarders. Just wondering if you can handle it." Arnold explained, still not quite used to the fact he was speaking with Helga's voice. He wondered how Helga was taking it being someone she hadn't quite liked in the past. She seemed okay now, but he wondered how she really felt.

"It should be easy," she bragged, smiling. "'Hi, grandpa. I was a good little boy today as I always am'," she said, clasping her hands and blinking rapidly. "'Yes, I'm one step closer to saving the world, one person at a time.'" She began to laugh, Arnold narrowed his eyes.

"I don't talk like that. I think you're going to be the one having problems Helga."

"Oh please, yeah right. Don't get cocky just because you made Phoebe believe that sorry excuse of a performance, barely if I remember correctly," she smirked.

"Whatever. I'm just saying, these are people who know me best. If there's anyone who'd know instantly it'd be one of them, and can you not make those faces? You're already not selling it."

Thy stopped walking as they reached the boarding house. Helga turned and glared at him. "I could say the same about you. You have me looking like a pansy. Tighten up your face a little bit before I have to start all over from scratch with my reputation."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "I'll do what I can, _Arnold_. Just make sure you don't worry my grandparents. I'll start making my way up the fire escape."

"Yeah, yeah." She walked over to the front door and waited for Arnold to disappear around the corner. "Okay, Helga. It can't be that hard to pose as Arnold. This is the guy you've practically stalked all your life. The love of your life, and gosh I never get tired of hearing myself talk." She smiled and opened the door.

She successfully avoided the herd of animals that rampaged out. Her heartbeat began to race. She was really doing this. She walked in and was nearly knocked over by an unknown source. "Howdy Tex!" His grandma practically shouted, causing her to jump. "Did you give that love letter to your beau?"

"Uh," she froze unsure how to answer. Did Arnold do something like that today? "Yeah?"

"Super! I knew you had it in you ranger! I have to go wrangle in the cattle, but I'll see you at eighteen hundred hours."

"Okay…" she said, not knowing how else to respond. It seemed Arnold was right. She didn't know how he interacted with his family. She'd have to practice up. But what did his grandma mean by love letter? Did he give one to Lila or some other girl like Ruth?

She made her way to his room. She had stopped sneaking in after the sixth grade incident where she had nearly gotten caught, but it still looked the same as always.

The sound of tapping made her look up at the skylight above his bed. She climbed the ladder and opened it.

"It's about time," he muttered, frowning.

"Sorry, your grandma, kind of dazed me," she admitted. "What did she mean by love letter by the way? Are you still fawning after Lila?" She asked, trying not too seem overly curious.

"Uh, no. She was talking about your card." He said, remembering his grandma calling the card that yesterday evening.

"The card you gave—" Her eyes widened. That card was now tucked safely away in her locket which was now unknowingly in Arnold's possession. Crap. How could she be so careless?

He raised half of his eyebrow. "What's wrong?" He asked, sitting on his bed.

"Nothing! Nothing! I was just wondering how…we'd use the bathroom." She quickly fibbed, though she had wondered how they'd get past that problem. It just wasn't quite at this moment.

His eyes got wide. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Yeah, well it's something we should think about as soon as possible if you know what I mean." She was glad he took the bait. "Unless you don't mind me seeing your-"

"Okay, okay, we'll think about it," Arnold said blushing.

"That's all I'm asking for," she said, sitting on the couch.

"How about we help each other use the bathroom?" He asked hesitantly. "That way I don't see your…you know and you don't see mine."

"…As smart of an idea as I think that is…what if we get caught going to the bathroom together? Sure, we're not…doing anything, but people might not understand what's going on above the surface." She stared at him hard. "And that's another thing. We can't tell _anyone_ about this. Not even Phoebe or Gerald. What if they try to…to put us on display or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Who'd do that to us?" He had a hard time believing their best friends could or would do anything like that to them.

"Money speaks louder than a lot of things Arnold. Look at us. If anyone finds out the truth they'd probably sell us faster than I could say 'I told you so'. I don't want to be picked or probed for the rest of my life even if I have to be stuck as _you_ for the rest of it."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Fine, we'll keep…this a secret for now, but what about the using the bathroom problem?" He was beginning to have to go now that she mentioned it.

"You won't…touch will you?"

He coughed. That was unexpected. "What?"

"Well…you do know how girls use the bathroom right?"

"I guess so..." He figured he knew enough.

"So that's what I'm asking. I don't even want you looking."

"Not like there's much to look at," he muttered.

"Watch yourself Arnold." She held up a fist. "I don't know if you can hold up a fight, but I wouldn't mind finding out."

He sighed, knowing his words had been in bad taste. It wasn't like he found them true anyway. Helga actually looked…nice, but would he be tempted to look? He didn't think so, but he wasn't totally sure.

"Well, what about you? Would you look?"

She blushed loudly. Arnold couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She wouldn't be tempted to look at him…right?

"No, I wouldn't look…though that might make it a little hard to aim…"

"Helga!" It was his turn to blush.

"It's not like I'm saying something that's not true." She shrugged. He didn't question why she knew that much. They were fourteen after all. Perhaps her dad told her or something.

He took a deep breath. "But what about…touching?"

"…Do you just want to help me out then, since I might have to do that much…"

After grimacing from a mental image, he nodded. "I think I'd prefer to do it that way."

"Sounds good to me," she quickly agreed. It'd actually be helpful even, so she find a way to get her locket before he noticed it.

They quietly went to the bathroom together, making sure no boarders were present. That part had been a success. After they had entered they just looked at each other. "I thought you had to go?" Arnold said, still watching her. She made no move to do anything. It was like she was frozen in place.

"Well, I do," she blushed, turning to look at the toilet. "But criminy this is going to be kind of…embarrassing isn't it?" Perhaps this plan wasn't all that great after all…

"Well, if you're not going to use it, then I will," he moved around her and stood in front of the toilet, getting ready to pull down the jeans he was wearing.

"Wait!" She hissed, grabbing one of his hands. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm trying to use the bathroom Helga." He said, making his eyes half lidded.

"Do you even realize what you're about to do? How can you be so casual about something like this?"

He blinked, then blushed. "I wasn't going to look…"

"That's beside the point!" She groaned. "How would you feel if I just removed your pants then?"

He blushed. "Okay fine, but the longer we stay in here, the more I really have to go."

"Okay, okay just…cover your eyes," she said. He did as he was told with a hand. She worked at removing his pants. Blushing knowing in a way she was undressing Arnold of all people, but this was her body and darn it she didn't want him looking at it until…well until they were older at least. She lowered the pants and smiled happy that much was done. "You can…sit now."

"Sit, but…"

"Just sit," she commanded through gritted teeth, closing her eyes. When would the embarrassment end?

He listened to her making no comment, and cringed when he felt the coolness of the seat. "Um…Helga," he said, blushing. "Now what?"

"What do you mean? You…go." She rubbed her eyes. Did he really not know that much?

"O-oh, okay…" It seemed a minute had passed before anything began to happen. She decided to take this opportunity to grab her locket. Slowly she stuck her hand down the front of his shirt…

"What are you doing?" He shrieked, moving his hand from his eyes. She hurriedly withdrew her hand, locket enclosed in her palm.

"No! Don't open your eyes yet!" She said, stuffing the locket in her pants pocket. "Just…finish up."

"But what did you do?" He said, worriedly. She hated that he was making her sound so pathetic.

"I...thought I saw a spider on you," she said, hoping he didn't question her weak lie. "Seems like it was a false alarm. Sorry I startled you."

"Alright," he sighed. "Just…please don't do that again okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Are you done yet?" She asked. This was getting too uncomfortable for her tastes.

"I think so…"

"Good." She was relieved to hear it. She handed him some tissue, and told him what to do with it. She was going to do it herself, but she figured they had both suffered enough embarrassment. Plus, he wasn't looking. That would just have to be enough for her.

"Okay, your turn." He said, quietly after flushing the toilet. Wondering if they could really keep something like this up. They were going to have to let the other see. This was more than embarrassing now. It was humiliating.

Helga nodded and covered her eyes. He blushed as he walked her through how to use the bathroom as a guy. This was definitely not something he'd ever thought he'd ever explain to her in a million years. By the time they were finished, both had red faces, unable to believe what they had just done.

They washed their hands and stared at each other in the mirror. That was when another thought occurred to Arnold.

"Um, Helga? How are we going to handle the whole taking a shower thing?"

Helga groaned.

* * *

A couple of problems later, Helga went downstairs for dinner once she was called. It was going to be weird responding to Arnold's name.

"Hey Shortman," Grandpa Phil said, as she sat down at the table.

"Hi, um grandpa." She said, uneasily.

"Something wrong today? That girl with the pink bow and one eyebrow didn't like the card?" He asked, putting peas on his plate. Ernie and Mr. Kokoschka were arguing about the mashed potatoes right next to her. Grandma was dancing with a pot of soup in hand, banging a ladle against the side of the pot.

"No it was a pretty good day…and I think she liked it." That much was true. She loved it in fact, especially the part where he worked on it enough his grandma though it was a love letter...She cleared her throat feeling a love sick expression began to grow on her face, and continued to eat as a distraction. She started to feel a bit relived, having felt the worst was behind her. Now sneaking food up to Arnold was probably going to be the hard part…

"Oh really." Phil studied her with squinted eyes. "Something seems different about you today…"

"Uh…" she said, starting to get nervous again.

"Oh, I know what it is! You're getting taller! Just don't go getting too tall on us Shortman." He said, with a laugh.

"Um, wouldn't dream of it," Helga murmured. She ate her potatoes and took in Arnold's family. They weren't perfect, but at least they ate dinner together unlike her own, though they _had_ gotten better in other aspects after she started the seventh grade. Still, it was actually nice eating with all of these eccentric people around. Comfortable even.

With the excuse that she wanted to finish up some homework with her plate of seconds, Helga went back to Arnold's room. She opened the door to find him laying down on his bed and playing catch with himself. He was tossing the ball up, and catching it as it came down.

"Oh, hi Helga," he said, sitting up.

"Hey, Arnold."

"How was dinner?"

"Not bad. Pretty loud though. Susie and Oscar got into an argument about having a baby halfway through the whole thing, Mr. Hyuhn yelled when Oscar stole his last piece of chicken, and Ernie splatted his potatoes in demonstration of a demolition he had earlier today. Is it always like that?"

"Yeah, for the most part." He smiled, glad she hadn't teased him about his family situation. He was actually worried to send her down there, but it wasn't like he was at liberty to stop her either.

She passed him the plate of food, and looked sheepish. "It's the same plate I ate off of, but I switched the fork for a new one."

"Oh, that's fine. Sometimes grandma forgets to wash the dishes," he said, beginning to eat greedily. He hadn't ate anything since lunchtime. Helga froze. He chuckled.

"You'll be fine. I know for a fact the dishes were washed today."

Helga sighed. "How long do you think we'll stay like this?"

"I was hoping we'd change back in the morning," he said, taking a bite out of a chicken leg. "Perhaps our souls will switch back by themselves as we sleep."

"Is that really the only bright side you can think of?"

He shrugged. "What else can we do, but hope?"

"We have to do more than hope Arnold. I'll be fine over time, but are you really going to wear the same outfit everyday? There's no way I'd have you go to school as me like that."

"It wouldn't be like this if you'd let me go to your house." He said warily.

"No way Arnold." She shook her head.

"I can't help but be curious over why you don't want me going to stay at your house." He gave her a pensive look.

"…Keep wondering. Everyday you are to report here as me until we change back to ourselves."

"That's ridiculous. As you said, what about clothes?" He couldn't help pointing out.

"I'll think of something."

"Whatever you say, Helga." He said, disbelief over how difficult she was being in his voice. It was amazing that he was getting used to hearing himself sound like her.

"You better believe it."

"But when your body starts getting smelly you can only blame yourself." He said, with a smile, thinking she'd crack a little.

She shrugged. "I guess so."

Okay, now he really was curious. She didn't care about her bodily hygiene due to someone or something in her house. Was there really something that important to keep secret from him?

"Oh yeah, you have to talk to my parents," she said, already dialing in the number with the phone she grabbed off of his nightstand.

"What? Why?"

"To tell them about the project that's going to keep you over at Phoebe's house on a school night, doi."

"But…but…"

"Just remember their names are Miriam and Bob. If you call them anything else that might make it suspicious." She tossed him the phone, and he clumsily caught it in his hands.

"Uh, hello," Miriam said, in her nasally voice. "Who is this?"

"Hi, uh, Miriam, it's me Helga," Arnold said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Oh, hi Helga. Where are you sweetie? We already ate dinner, but we did save you a plate."

"I'm at Phoebe's house. We, um, have a project…and well in order to finish it I'm going to spend the night."

"Oh, okay dear. Have fun."

Arnold breathed a sigh of relief. Then glared at Helga. "You have to give me time for that sort of thing."

"I thought you could handle being me," she said, smiling deviously at him while flopping on his bed.

"I can, but I have to get into the character."

"Tch, it's not a character Arnold. It's a way of life." She said, folding her arms behind her head. "You'll never sell the audience the product if you think it's a character." She chuckled.

"You keep saying stuff like that, but I don't see you doing an Oscar winning performance of me," he crossed his arms and glared, nearly looking just like Helga would when upset. "At this rate, Gerald is sure to get suspicious tomorrow."

"Tall hair boy? He'll be putty in my hands. Heck, I'll have them all believing I'm you before noon."

"You know what they say, 'confidence killed the cat'."

"That's 'curiosity' Arnoldo, and either way the only dead cat's going to be you. I have my doubts about you going to school and acting like me successfully. It's going to be really fun to see you make a fool out of yourself," she chuckled.

"If I flop our secret is one step away from being exposed," he said, frowning.

"Not really. If it comes to it, I'll make up some excuse that'll explain the bad day."

Arnold hated to admit it, but he was jealous of her confidence. He was unsure if he could really be her successfully. Helga was a hard act to follow, and he had to be her for a full school day…and maybe even more. Also, she had already pointed out that acting like someone in person was harder to accomplish than it would be over the phone. He had his doubts.

"Thinking about calling in sick Arnold?" She teased, with a smile.

"No way. Are you?"

"I'm ready to show the world my version of Arnold, football head. Get ready to be stunned."

He just hoped with all his heart they wouldn't crash and burn.

**A/N: *faints* That was tough, but I can't wait to portray them like this in a school setting. That's sure to be fun. (: See you all next chapter!  
**


	3. The Start of Something

**A/N: At long last chapter three is finally here! Sorry it took so long. I had some stuff I had to take care of in rl and then I was unsatisfied with what I wrote for this chapter before(which that will actually become chapter 4). Just want to say, I really appreciate the kind reviews, and I do hope you guys enjoy this one as much as you all seem to have done the last one. Also, I want to give a big thanks to Marie Allen for helping me edit. (: Please do enjoy!**

* * *

It was early morning, some time before dawn. Helga snuggled Arnold's pillow closer to her face, inhaling that oh so wonderful scent of him in deeply through her nose. It was enough to make her intoxicated, even in sleep, and it spurred her to dream about him even as he slept on his couch a mere ten feet away from her.

Her dream-speaking eventually woke Arnold up, and he gently rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced over at her to make sure she was all right. Other than being tangled within his blankets she seemed just fine, which brought a smile to Arnold's face. He wondered if this was the chance he had wanted all along. If perhaps for some weird reason this happened so that they could become better friends. He wasn't sure why or how this happened, but he decided to make a promise to himself that he'd at least try to make the best of it.

He turned around and snuggled closer into the blanket he wrapped around him, and when he thought he heard her say his name, something he was quite sure he had definitely misheard, he smiled and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

"Ah! No! What are you doing?"

"Would you hold still! And lower your voice already. Someone might hear you."

"I can't help it. Your hand is cold."

"Man, you're a big baby. I'm nearly done so stop bickering already," Helga said, snickering a little. "Annnnnd there, I'm done."

Helga stepped back and admired her handy work. She had taken a couple of Arnold's clothes and transformed them to be something suitable for her real body, not to mention unrecognizable that they were his to begin with. He was now wearing a pair of his jeans cuffed off to look like Capri since his pants were a little short for her legs. She also forced him to wear a red tee she found in the back of his dresser with a yellow smiley face on the front. Sure it wasn't what she'd usually wear, but it wasn't so out there that it would be questioned either. She gave Arnold a thumbs up, trying to ignore the feelings she got from seeing herself wearing Arnold's clothes. She quickly dashed the growing fantasy of her actually wearing his clothes and not because of a body switch. Her mind so didn't need to go there right now, and she focused on Arnold again to catch him glaring at her.

"Half of what you were doing was intentional," he said, a scowl upon his face. "You didn't have to keep touching me you know."

She chuckled. "No, but it wouldn't have been as fun otherwise. Now come here so I can fix your hair before your grandma or someone else comes up looking for you."

They were getting ready for school, and Arnold was becoming nervous. He still had his doubts that he could play the role of Helga correctly. She was his exact opposite in most ways. She was loud, brash, and didn't care if she hurt people's feelings or not with her sharp tongue. He, on the other hand, liked to maintain peace and liked to get along with all of their peers. Being Helga meant he'd have to play a rather difficult role. A role he wasn't sure he wanted to participate in.

"Bang or no bang?" She asked him, pulling him from his worrying thoughts, as she had moved on to her next task of getting him ready to go.

"I cannot believe I'm letting you do my hair of all things," he said, with a soft sigh.

"Arnold..."

"Uh, does it really matter?" He wondered, not really caring one way or the other.

"A bang it is," she shrugged, beginning to make the proper adjustments.

"Um, Helga, aren't you nervous?" He asked, that very emotion evident in his voice. "I can't help but worry we might, you know, mess up."

"A little," she admitted, her voice carrying worry, if Arnold knew going by the tone. "In fact, I'm pretty sure the whole enchilada will burn up in flames."

His eyes widened. "But that's a bad thing...right?"

"Of course it is! It's a terrible outcome! But let's face facts. This is the only person I really know how to be, and I'm sure the same goes for you Mr. Goody Two-Shoes. Guess that goes to show you can defy reality and swap bodies with a person, but regardless, you'll still only know how to be yourself."

"That's true," He said, fully understanding what she meant.

"Okay, you're done now," she said, liking the ponytail she gave him. Probably the neatest one she ever gave herself. She was really starting to like the whole other perspective side of all of this. "Now skedaddle before someone catches you in here."

"Still a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Arnold said, rolling his eyes, but he did as he was told, grabbing onto his ladder. "I'll meet you at school."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya."

Once Arnold left, Helga finished her own attire by putting on her shoes and went downstairs. The borders and Arnold's grandparents were all in the kitchen eating breakfast, or...moaning over breakfast, as seemed to be the case for some...

"Oh, there you are Short Man," Grandpa Phil said, looking distressed, while holding his stomach. "Run away while you still can. Save yourself. Oh, the agony."

"Uh..." she said, not quite understanding what he meant. She did, however, begin to move backwards towards the door...

"Howdy, there Tex!" Arnold's grandma yelled from behind her, causing her to jump just as she did yesterday. Maybe even more so, as she began to see that everyone around the breakfast table looked like they'd rather be anywhere else but where they were. "Want some goat's milk and porridge?" She held a bowl of...something that seemed to be...moving in her hand. It also reeked a little. "It's dee-licious!"

"Um, no thanks...Grandma. Still full from yesterday, heh. Uh, is that the bus I hear? Gotta go." She pretty much made a mad dash outside, her heart beating loud in her ears. She didn't even notice as she bumped into someone who had gotten in her way of escape. "Why don't you-_Arnold_!" She blinked, also relieved as she was totally on her way to blowing her cover. "Why are you still here?"

"Um, well I got kind of…nervous." He blushed, taking in her disheveled appearance and wondered what happened behind the scenes. "What happened to you?"

She shivered, her whole body in on the action. "Your grandma was trying to feed me guck. Half, if not all of the boarders were down for the count."

Instead of sympathy, he chuckled. "It was one of those days, huh?"

She scowled. "What do you mean by 'one of those days'?"

"Let's just say this isn't the first time," he frowned. "You didn't eat it...did you?"

"Of course not! As if I would. I'd have probably died if I did."

He chuckled, relieved. "I don't think you'd have died. But I don't think you'd have been able to go to school today either." He assessed her, finding it rather enjoyable to talk to her. He wondered if this was only due to their body swap. Yeah, it most likely was. Speaking of which. "Can you help walk me through being you one more time?" He asked her.

She sighed, but knowing her reputation was on the line she decided it would be in their best interests. So as they walked to school, Helga asked Arnold questions and Arnold did his best to answer them as Helga would.

"Okay, so let's go over this one more time. If someone bumps into you what do you do?"

"Ram them back?"

"No, Arnold, you issue a threat. You only resort to physical violence if they keep adding offenses on top of each other." She explained.

"This is complicated." Not to mention very out of his comfort zone. It wasn't like he was okay with it when Helga herself did things like that. It bothered him to know he was going to try at all.

"Well, it ain't easy being me. Maybe now you'll understand what I go through day in and day out."

"Why do I get the idea you think my life is sunshine and rainbows?"

"Isn't it?" Though she knew this wasn't the case if this morning was a taste of what life as Arnold was like.

"No, Helga it's not." He said, shaking his head. Oh well, if they stayed like this long enough she'd soon understand.

"Okay, there goes our friends," Helga said, seeing the familiar bodies as they neared their school. "Remember you are me and I am you. We can't call each other by our real names in front of these boobs."

"I know, Helga."

"_Arnold_," She corrected gently, trying to ease into her new persona.

"Sorry."

"Hi, guys, what's um going on?" Helga asked, smiling brightly. She stuck her hands into her pockets and tried to walk like Arnold would. Instead of looking smooth like she had been doing so for years, it came off as forced. Stinky and Sid exchanged a glance.

"Is everything okay, Arnold?" Sid asked.

"Of course it is, Sid. Isn't life amazing?" She said, taking in a deep breath of air. Arnold cringed, feeling she was laying it on a bit _too_ thick. He didn't act like that...did he?

"Uh…right," Sid glanced at Stinky again who just shrugged. "Um, and did you just walk to school with Helga?"

"No way, like I'd be caught-" They had begun to widen their eyes and she cleared her throat. "What I meant to say was…yeah, but only because our paths eventually crossed. Isn't that right, Helga?"

Arnold blinked at the unexpected question. "Uh, stop being such a dumb dweeb, Arnold. You, um, know what happened." He replied, trying to look menacing. In the end, it was like he had a bug stuck in his nose or something, he kept wriggling his facial features trying to get them just right.

"See?"

"Yeah…" Sid, said, dragging the word out, looking fearful. "I think I'll just…see you two…later."

Once they had walked off, Helga smiled. "I think that went well. What about you?"

"I don't think they bought it…" He said, uneasily.

"Stop looking like you want to sneeze. To get the right look, just think about something you hate."

"Something I…hate, hmm." He thought about crooks, crime, war, Dino Spumoni retiring forever, Wolfgang coming from high school to occasionally toss them in trashcans, and immediately felt himself reacting to these things he could definitely classify as hating.

"Perfect. By George I think he has it."

"Hi, Arnold. Hi, Helga," They turned to see Phoebe walking over as she greeted the two of them. "How are you two doing this morning?"

"We're good Pheebs," Helga responded casually. Seeing Phoebe's confused look she realized her mistake. "Uh, I mean I'm fine...Phoebe. How are you this morning?"

Phoebe blinked and looked like she wanted to say something else, but she obviously changed her mind about it. "I'm…good." She turned to look at Arnold. "Um, Helga can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh, sure?" Arnold responded, not knowing what else to say.

"Great!" Phoebe said, pulling him by the arm. "See you later Arnold."

He allowed Phoebe to pull him to wherever it was she was taking him, she was actually stronger than he would have guessed, and thought about what she could be trying to talk about and how he should go about answering. They didn't stop walking until they were on the opposite side of the school building. There were a couple of sixth graders around, but other than that, nobody they knew Arnold couldn't help but note.

"So what did you want to talk about?" He said, trying to maintain a level of cool. He folded his arms and leaned back against the aged building, hoping he didn't set off any warning bells in Phoebe.

"I couldn't help but wonder what yesterday was about. Is everything okay? You rarely pull a last resort like that unless it's a real emergency." There was nothing suspicious in her questions. He could tell that she was just being a concerned and caring friend.

"Um, no major reason," he said quickly. "I just had…things to do."

"Oh," she said, her voice turned knowing, which shocked Arnold, since he then had to ask himself what did she know? "Is this about…ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" He blinked confused. Talk about coming out of left field.

Phoebe nodded glancing around. "Was it that kind of…emergency?"

Was Helga lactose intolerant? He'd have to avoid dairy for the time being. "Um, I guess?" He said, going along with it for now. It seemed the easiest way to get her off the subject as she already believed it anyway.

"Okay, then. Just try to be more careful from now on. Your mom had called to check on you this morning, and I had to tell a white lie that you were in the shower."

"Oh…sorry." He said. Did Helga care she was putting her best friend in a bad spot just because she didn't want him in her room? He decided to talk to her later about him staying at her house for the time being. What if this lasted a long time? He couldn't avoid going home, so to speak, forever.

The bell rung, signaling that school was officially about to begin.

_'Well, here goes nothing.'_ He thought glumly as he followed Phoebe into school.


	4. Now He Knows

**A/N: This chapter's kind of on the lengthy side. I had most of it written already, as I mentioned before, but I added way more, and made a couple of tweaks here and there, and this is what I ended up with. Hope you guys enjoy it! (: Thanks for being so cool and patient as well as I take my sweet time updating stories as of late. Hopefully, I'll get to update more regularly in coming days, but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch so to speak. Thanks guys for being amazing, and a big motivation, and well I'm rambling I know.** **x3 I'll, um, just let the story do the talking now. **

* * *

The first half of class went by successfully for the most part. Arnold had never been happier that Helga had stopped shooting spitballs at him back in the fifth grade. It made blending in so much easier, and there was _no_ way he wanted to ever do anything like that. The yuck factor was pretty much off the charts.

He twirled his pencil around and studied the notebook Helga had thrust into his chest as he walked past her earlier this morning before class had officially begun. He tried not to think about how it hadn't made the wind leave his lungs as he was sure it would have if she had been in her own body doing the same action. His ego really didn't need that sort of punishment. It was a standard notebook, nothing out of the ordinary, but what got him was what was _inside_ of the notebook. He probably wouldn't have noticed it at all if he hadn't been randomly flipping the pages bored, but there it was nearly in the middle of the book, a drawing done in pink ink.

A heart. It was a picture of a huge pick heart with A+H dead set in the middle of it. He couldn't help but stare at it. If anything, he was burning holes into the stupid thing. It was hard for him to believe what he was seeing. Greater was that feeling when he realized that _Helga_ of all people drew it.

'_Impossible_,' he thought to himself. '_There must be some mistake_.' Because what he saw implied that Helga probably liked someone. Someone whose name began with the letter 'A'. What else should he believe? That Helga had given him a notebook that belonged to someone else? No, it was her notebook, and therefore it was her drawing.

But to think that begged the question of whose name began with the letter 'A'? The 'H' most definitely stood for Helga in this case, but he couldn't think of anyone with a name that began with 'A'.

"Helga? Helga?" Arnold blinked, pulled from his thoughts and looked up at Ms. Grey who was smirking a little bit at his inattention.

"Um, yes Ms. Grey?" He asked, doing his best not to blush from the snickers coming from around him. How embarrassing. He didn't risk a glance at Helga, but he was sure she was probably frowning at him right about now.

"I asked you who the thirty-fifth president was."

"Um, well, you see it was…" He was torn between answering correctly, and answering wrong. In the end, he figured getting caught daydreaming was punishment enough. "John F. Kennedy?"

"Correct. Very good Helga, and that is exactly who your written report will be on. It will be three pages in length and double-spaced. Cover page will stand alone, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll pass out the instructions." As she went around to get them, the bell rung signaling that it was time for lunch. "Well, I'll do that after lunch." She said, smiling softly.

Arnold unconsciously took the notebook with him as he made his way out of class. For some reason it bothered him to know that Helga liked someone, if only because she never acted like she liked anyone at all. He was so lost in thought again that he didn't realize that Phoebe had caught up to him.

"Konichiwa Helga. Something on your mind?"

"Um, yeah a little," he pulled the notebook closer to his chest, and Phoebe's eyes dropped to it.

"Anything I can help with?"

Arnold took the time to think about it. If anyone would know about Helga's crush, if she chose to share it, Phoebe would be the one with access to that knowledge, but he was sure there was no way to get the information from her without rousing suspicion. Besides, it wasn't his place to know anyway, but he couldn't help being just a little curious over it…

"No, but thanks for asking."

Phoebe blinked. "Oh, your welcome Helga."

He mentally kicked himself. That was probably _too_ polite. "Oh, um, don't worry about it too much. So what's for lunch?"

"I'm not totally sure, but it'll probably have a touch of 'mystery' in it."

He smiled, knowing that to be true. Of course, the lunch ladies(and man on Thursdays) never said that out loud to them, but the food was almost always different from it's name sake. Mashed potatoes looked like blended collared greens, the ham sandwiches looked like it came from a playset of some sort, and even the pizza they were rarely served looked like frozen cardboard with ingredients on top. Instead of whetting the appetite, it made one want to gag and never lay eyes on cafeteria food ever again.

Helga watched as Arnold walked in from her spot at the lunch table, her eyes mostly on the notebook he was carrying close to his chest like it meant the world to him. She had noticed him carrying it as she stood by 'her locker', but she was foiled from asking him about it as Phoebe moved into the picture. She smelled something fishy with his actions, but she had yet to understand why that notebook had gained his interest so much. She had lots of notebooks, and occasionally they blended together. She was positive that particular one had been one of the safer ones she could have given him, but now she wasn't all that sure.

"See something you like?" Gerald asked, suspiciously.

Helga forced herself to turn and look at him. Ever since she sat across from him she felt she was treading dangerous waters. She was wary of him, and she wasn't sure if she would ever be comfortable around him. If there was anyone who'd know she wasn't Arnold, it'd be the one closest to him, and Gerald, jock décor aside, was actually pretty smart, and far too observant than should be. She blamed his man Fuzzy Slippers for that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, hesitantly, biting into her ham and turkey sandwich. It seemed her dream of a quiet lunch hour where she wouldn't make a fool of herself wasn't going to come to fruition today.

"You've been staring Helga down ever since she came in here."

She bit the sarcasm back as best as she could. It wasn't easy, but she did it for Arnold's sake. Okay, also because she was sure Arnold wouldn't look at her in good standing if she made his best friend hate him. Something like that would definitely destroy any and all brownie points. "I guess I have…"

"Then there was that card you gave her yesterday…"

"Mm, hmm," she agreed. That locket was now safely in her current shirt. She still had yet to figure out where to stash it, but Arnold's room was a bigger no, no at this point in time.

"So, do you like Helga?"

The question took her off guard. If she had been standing up it would have floored her. She wasn't sure what else Arnold did to make Gerald come to that conclusion, but she figured there had to be more. "D-don't be ridiculous…Gerald," She managed to croak.

"Are you really trying to tell me you don't?"

"J-just because I stare at someone doesn't necessarily mean I like them." She said, immediately on the defensive. '_But it would be nice if it were true_,' she couldn't help thinking, holding back a smile.

"The opposite is also true you know."

"And that is?"

"If you stare at someone it means you like them." He grinned, leaning back, feeling like he had her.

She couldn't help but grin back at that. "Yeah, okay for some people, but not for me."

"Well, stop staring at her so hard, man. Everyone's going to think that soon not just me, only if they don't think it now already."

"Nobody is going to think I like Helga. That's just you being paranoid."

He chuckled. "You probably have a point. Everyone might think you're crazy if you ever said you liked her."

Helga pushed back her annoyance and sipped on her carton of orange juice. She cut her eyes toward Arnold, who was sitting at his table now, one more time, if only to annoy Gerald a little. She was shocked to see that Arnold was looking at her and he was frowning. Had she done something he didn't agree too much with?

Obviously, she kept her eyes on Arnold a moment too long as Gerald spoke again. "Really man? Are you serious?"

"What? She is cute."

Any trouble she got from her actions from Arnold all became so worth it as she watched Gerald choke on his milk. It was just too priceless.

Arnold was still thinking about who Helga could potentially like. His thoughts eventually landed on Arnie. He was sure his cousin had expressed interest in her, but had he been successful? There was that time on the beach last summer, but he didn't think anything besides a broken nose had bloomed from that incident.

"Hey, Phoebe. Hi, Helga." Arnold turned to see Rhonda standing behind him. "I'm glad I caught you two. I'm having a sleepover next weekend and you're both invited." She glared at him, and he held back a gulp at the look. "I expect certain people to be on their best behavior should they attend. Here are your invites. You'll need them to get in," They took the cream colored envelopes she was holding out to them from her. "Tata. Come on Nadine, let's find the others."

"Sure, Rhonda," Nadine said, walking a little faster to keep up with her best friend.

"A sleepover huh?" Phoebe said, adjusting her glasses and studying the envelope in her hand from all angles. "It's been a while since she last hosted one. Do you plan to go Helga?"

What a question. Considering he was a guy the answer was obvious, but he just shrugged. "Gotta think about it first."

"Yeah, I understand," she nodded. "You and Rhonda have a very…interesting tolerance of each other." She smiled.

"R-right," he said, agreeing, sipping his drink.

As lunch ended, Helga had yet to decide how to approach Arnold. If she walked up to him, it wouldn't be that odd, but she had better have a darned good reason to do so. No such reason had appeared to her and she decided that she'd just have to wait until school ended to confront him. It was probably for the best since she tended to be a little more comfortable that she wanted to be around him in their current predicament.

* * *

As school ended, Helga breathed a sigh of relief. The paper would be a cinch. She said her good byes to Gerald and walked out of the classroom.

"_Psst_, hey," Helga turned and looked into what seemed to be an empty classroom. There stood her kookiest classmate, Curly, beckoning to her with his hand. She debated rather to go to him or not, but knowing Arnold would never turn down a request from a friend, she walked over to him.

"Uh, hi Curly," she said, giving him a smile, thinking it was a very Arnold thing to do. "Is there something you need me to help you with?"

To her surprise he gave a dark chuckle. "You can cut the act. I know who you really are."

Her eyes widened in shock, and her breath caught at the sudden admission_. Keep it together Helga ol' girl. You don't know what it is he truly knows._ "What are you talking about Curly?" She said, in that annoyed voice Arnold got sometimes whenever someone said anything stupid. She decided to let him do all the talking.

Curly scoffed and more than anything she wished he didn't wear those glasses that hid his eyes pretty darn well. She was sure they most likely glinted with mischief if the smug grin he was now sporting was any indication.

"Oh, please, _Arnold_," his grin grew a little. "If that really is your name. The jig is up. Your goose is loose. Your bun is baked. Pretty much it's game over."

She could feel her anger starting to replace her shock and with it came an irritation that Curly of all people would begin to suspect something. He was probably the worse one next to Harold or Sid.

"What do you want?"

He chuckled again, much to her chagrin. "Oh, it's not what _I_ want puppet. It's what _you_ want."

"Call me puppet again and I'll—" She moved and bunched up some of his shirt.

"Showing our true colors now I see." He wiggled his eyebrows knowing he won. What else could be more telling than her sporting her pink bow?

She let him go realizing she had been moving at his pace. Going by his flow. He really did hold all of the cards now. She _hated_ that. "What is it that_ I _want?" She asked through gritted teeth. Remembering who she was, she immediately relaxed her face. It wouldn't do for Arnold's near perfect face to be ruined because Curly had to know too much.

"Glad you're starting to see things my way." He looked so relaxed she couldn't help wanting to smack him a couple of times. "Don't you find this opportunity...riveting?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, forgetting her anger for just a moment.

"You like him don't you? Arnold I mean?"

Her breath caught. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Typical words of one in love. Don't think that I haven't noticed. You just express your love differently than I do. While I make it a habit to confess to my darling everyday you keep your inner most desires…suppressed."

"Your point?" She said, not exactly denying anything anymore.

"Don't you long to tell him already? From my observations it's been years. You don't even look as if you care to tell him."

"Not like it's any of your beeswax, but I made plans to tell him already."

He stared at her for a moment, and then he suddenly began to laugh hard. "While the way you talk is just like you Helga, it's so odd hearing Arnold's voice speak that way." He wiped a tear from eye. "It's quite...wonderfully amazing."

"Yeah, yeah, hardy, har, har. Moving on."

"Helga, darling, baby. I just want you to confess. I mean if you don't find this to be the perfect opportunity, then it must mean you don't ever plan on telling him."

"Why does it matter so much to you?"

"You never want to wonder about what could have been. I've seen the way you look at him sometimes and I know it's the real deal. I know I have my quirks, but I'm an honest man. When I began to notice the…change if you will, I was inspired to help you in any way that I could."

She hated to admit it, but in a weird sort of way she was touched. Sure Phoebe and Brainy knew, but she never really had a heart to heart with them, and while she wasn't planning to start now with Curly, she was happy that someone else out there knew, and didn't think anything about it than what it was at it's full value. Love. Even if it was kind of...dark and twisted. Maybe that was why he seemed able to understand better than anyone else. It wasn't like his affections were of the normal variety either. Not everyone could be Eugene and Sheena.

"But what do you think you can do? Just because we, er...body swapped doesn't really change much."

"It changes everything." He chuckled. "But I don't plan to do anything really, but be a very supporting third party. I really just wanted to call your bluff so to speak. Not sure why our other chums haven't caught on yet. It seems obvious to me."

"We aren't surrounded by the brightest crayons in the box," she said, smiling wiry, and again he burst out laughing in that irritating crackle he had that would get heads turning to see what maniac was prowling the streets.

"I don't think that'll ever get old."

"Yeah, well look if you even think of telling anyone else about this..."

"My lips are sealed." He said, using his hand to act as if he had zipped them. "Well, anyway the ball is totally in your court, my dear. Make do with it as you will. Avoir my Cherie." With that said he was gone.

She sighed, and rubbed her temples as she left the classroom. The cat was out of the bag and they hadn't even done this for twenty-four hours yet. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she definitely wanted to step up her game a bit. Her pride wasn't going to allow her to let it end like this.

"Hi, Helga."

She jumped twenty feet in the air as she heard her real voice coming from behind her. "Criminy! Must you sneak up on me like that even being me?"

He chuckled. "Sorry, but there's something I wanted to talk to you about now that school's over."

"And my answers still no." She said, beginning to walk in the direction of the exit.

"I didn't even ask the question yet," he said with a slight smile, keeping in step with her. He couldn't help it. She read him pretty accurately.

"Yeah, well it's the only thing I could see you asking at this time," she glanced at him and shrugged.

"Come on Helga. It's really the only option. Even you have to know this other arrangement is...well, shaky at best."

"No, Arnold. You can't stay at my house." She unknowingly bit her bottom lip. Her house, no, her room in particular, was full of too many secrets. He could uncover the diary in her underwear drawer or the pictures of him she still kept in her closet along with all of her books of poetry…The list just went on and on. She'd hate to freak the guy out before she even gathered the guts to tell him to his face.

"Helga…did you murder someone and hide the parts in your room?" He asked, mock serious, as they walked out of the school building. The sun was bright, but it was still a bit chilly seeing as how it was still winter. She was beginning to wish she had worn a coat, even without it being all that cold of a morning.

She scowled. "No."

"Hmm, let's see." He acted like he was thinking hard about his next question. "Oh, I know," A dramatic finger snap here. "You have a frilly pink dress collection don't you?" He asked, clicking his tongue in distaste.

"Football head, really, absolutely not," but she was smirking now.

"Then it must be because you have a diary filled with mushy gushy details of the guy you like."

She didn't mean to, but she stopped walking, nearly tripped actually, when he said that. It was far, far too close to the truth. He stopped smiling and studied her. "No way you do?"

"I-is it so strange?" She asked, avoiding his gaze. In a way she was insulted he didn't think she could have a crush, but if it wasn't for his denseness he'd probably have figured out that crush was on him already.

"Um…no I guess not," he said, frowning a little. "I guess it's just shocking since you never…uh…" He stopped talking, shaking his head a little, and smiled uneasily. "Well, anyway it's not like I'd snoop through your things."

"You expect me to sleep soundly with just the promise of your words?" She scoffed, trying to get over how he was reacting towards it all. She wasn't sure if her feelings should be hurt or not.

"Well...yeah."

"Too bad you're me then," she said, continuing to walk.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I can't trust you," she said.

"Wait, what?"

She sighed. "Look, you might try to justify your actions because of that. 'Since I'm Helga it's like Helga's looking right?'" She said, deepening her voice, though there wasn't a need to. "Not saying you would, but I can't take any chances."

"You're more insane than I originally thought," but he was smiling. "Soooo….who's the lucky guy?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'd tell you that if there is one?"

"Good point, but I didn't see the harm in asking." He looked away from her, and she wondered if there was more to why he was asking.

"Well, my lips are sealed."

"But you admit there is someone?"

"You sure are digging quite a bit today." She said, glancing at him.

"Can't help but wonder who your type of guy is."

_You're looking at him buddy._ She thought, and smiled. Arnold glanced at the peaceful grin on her face and frowned.

"Does he make you happy?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Hmm, yeah for the most part, but can we drop it now? Sheesh, you're almost as bad as Olga with the questions."

"Okay, okay," he said, in agreement, but for some reason he didn't want to drop it. It was hard for him to imagine what kind of guy Helga could like. Then there was the initials in the notebook to consider. He found himself…bothered by it all, and couldn't help wondering why he even cared as much as he seemed to.

"Okay, you stay right here for now got it?" He blinked and looked at Helga who was making her way across a yard. It then dawned on him just where they had walked.

"What are you about to do?" He asked, watching her walk over to a tree.

"Water aerobics," she said, rolling her eyes. "What does it _look_ like I'm about to do?"

"Um, break into your room?" He asked, blushing.

"Bravo Arnold, bravo." She grunted, hoisting herself onto a branch. "You're a tad taller than the height I was in elementary school, so I figured this should be a piece of cake, but you don't have much upper arm strength."

His blush deepened, not quite liking what was implied. "I-I see. Wait, you do this a lot?"

"On special occasions," she said, climbing higher. She didn't seem as if she was going to give him anything more than that, and he wasn't sure if he should try prying or not. After a lot of trial and error, she made it to her window, breathing hard, and more than a just a little disheveled. Arnold kind of wanted to laugh at the image she portrayed. Would he ever attempt such a feat himself? No, he wouldn't, but it was cool to know he could if he was determined to and had the willpower that Helga often portrayed more often than not.

Helga opened the window and looked at the opening. It seemed like a tight squeeze, but she was sure she could get in. Wiggling in through the gap, she was nearly in when it suddenly shut on top of her. She felt the air leave her lungs, and it stunned her for a little while. Shifting a little, she tried to get the window up again, but it was hard for her to push it up in the angle she was in, and it didn't go up anymore no matter how much she tried. "Uh, oh."

"Is everything okay Helga?" Arnold asked clearly worried. His voice sounded like it came from directly from beneath her.

"Um, yeah everything's fine. I do this all the time when I climb in through windows."

"Right, um, do you want me to help you?"

She didn't, but what choice did she have? "Yeah..."

It was silent for a while, and Helga wondered what he was doing. "...Well, I'm going to need a key..."

"Underneath the flowerpot on the other side of the yard." As she heard him walk away, she looked around her room quickly, making sure there was nothing his eyes could potentially land on that would oust her secret affections. There didn't seem to be anything, but she couldn't really be sure. She could see most of her room, but there were areas that were blocked off from her view thanks to the angle.

The door to her room opened, and he walked in tentatively, and looked at her as she literally hung from her window.

"It seems your parents weren't home..."

"Thanks for telling me the obvious and help me get in already." She hated knowing this could have all gone easier if she just entered through the front door like a normal person. No, she just had to go and do things the hard way instead.

He lifted the window and she finished climbing in, dusting herself off. They stood next to each other, not really making any moves.

"Um, so could you...you know?" She asked, shifting her eyes toward the door so he could catch a hint.

"Oh. Um, yeah sure no problem." He walked back out into the hall and shut the door. As soon as she heard the soft click, she began to move around in a frenzy, hiding everything she didn't want Arnold's eyes prying over in various areas she was sure he couldn't check. Her diary though she stuck in the front of her shirt. She felt this whole experience was something she needed to jot down, if only to keep her sanity, especially with this crazy thing she was going to let Arnold do. The only thing she could do was pray he kept his promise. He was the most admirable guy she knew after all.

"You can come in now," she said, loudly, and her door was almost immediately opened again for his admittance. "Now look, I'm going to give you a bit of trust here. You were right in saying that you can't hide out at the boarding house forever. My parents might find it weird that I'm all of a sudden never home."

"That's true." He murmured still taking in her room.

"So don't touch anything. Just go straight to bed when you're in here, or I'll do all I can to make your life heck."

"I understand," he said smiling. He hated to admit it, but the more she made such a big deal out of it, the more curious he became. He wanted to know, to learn, as much as he could about her. He wasn't sure if he should be unsettled by that thought or not. "Sooo...the lucky guy's name starts with an 'A'?"

"Wha-, huh?" She asked, her eyes widening to a very large degree. Where had _that_ come from? Did he know-?

"It was in the notebook you gave me," His words began coming out in a rush, that she could barely comprehend what he was saying. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to, but it was there and I couldn't help but see it. I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to break your privacy, and did I mention that I didn't mean to? Uh, cause I didn't."

She blinked, more from disbelief than from anything else. "Um..." Was her beloved really this oblivious? She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh, cry or dance in silly circles over the fact he hadn't put two and two together yet.

"Uh, well that...wasn't your fault so don't worry about it. Um, yeah his name starts with 'A', and well..." She scowled. "Now wait a second. I'm not telling you anything more. Why do I have to explain myself to a do-gooder little shrimp like you anyway?"

"Oh, well okay." So it was true. Did that mean it really was Arnie then? He wasn't sure why that made him sad, but it did.

"Unfortunately, I have to go now. But just…behave." She hesitated, then showed pleading emotion in her eyes. It wasn't an emotion he ever thought he'd ever see her have. "Please?"

He nodded and watched her leave through the door this time. To say he didn't feel tempted to begin snooping would be a lie, but that was mostly because she seemed so adamant about keeping whatever it was, or who, it seemed a secret. Could he resist the temptation? He gave the room one last look over. It seemed he was about to find out.


End file.
